Israeli military forces Monday continued its air and ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
Health officials in Gaza say the bodies of five Palestinians were recovered after an Israeli airstrike on a house in the al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza, while hospital officials in the nearby city of Deir al-Balah reported three people were killed in an airstrike.
The Associated Press said one person on the street was killed and at least six others wounded in the strike.
Meanwhile, an Israeli airstrike Monday near the border that separates Syria and Lebanon killed Mohammed Baraa Katerji, a Syrian businessman with close ties to President Bashar Assad and his regime. Reports say Kateriji was killed while in a vehicle traveling along the highway linking the two nations.
Katerji, an oil tycoon, was sanctioned by the United States for facilitating trade between Assad’s regime and the radical Islamic State group.
Questions remained about the fate of the head of Hamas’s military forces who was the target of an Israeli airstrike on Saturday.
Local health officials said at least 90 people were killed in the airstrike on al-Masawi, located on the outskirts of Khan Younis, which Israel had previously declared a safe zone for scores of Palestinians who had been displaced by the war.
Israel says the strike targeted Mohammed Deif, considered the mastermind behind the group’s Oct. 7, 2024 raid on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting at least 250 others, triggering the war in Gaza.
Israeli airstrikes and ground attacks have killed at least 38,500 people and injured more than 88,800 others, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been working to broker a cease-fire deal but have yet to achieve a new agreement that includes a halt in fighting and the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The White House said Monday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held talks with their Israeli security counterparts for a meeting of the U.S.-Israel Strategic Consultative Group.
In addition to discussions on countering Iran’s threats to Israel, the two sides “discussed developments in Gaza and progress towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The Israeli side affirmed its full support for the deal as outlined by President Biden and endorsed by the UN Security Council, G7, and countries around the world.”
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse.
